MID-SOUTH MEMORIES
25 years ago — 1997
WASHINGTON – Nearly one in 10 of those living in the United States are foreign born, the United States' highest percentage of immigrants since the 1930s, according to a new Census Bureau report. The census report, which makes no distinction between legal and illegal immigrants, confirms the long-held image of newcomers pulling themselves up from economic hardship over time. Though large numbers of immigrants initially suffer from poverty and unemployment, those who arrived in the 1970s are now as financially stable as natives, the study found. Nor is the unemployment rate inordinately high among immigrants. Just under 5 percent of the foreign born were out of work when the census survey was conducted in March 1996, compared with less than 4 percent among the native-born population.
50 years ago — 1972
CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Former President Lyndon B. Johnson, felled by a serious heart attack, was given a "very good" chance for survival Saturday. His wife, Lady Bird, vowed to make him "more quietly" in the future. Dr. John Willis Hurst, the Emory University heart specialist who treated Johnson for two previous heart seizures, said the 63-year-old former President's chances of living were about 80 percent.
75 years ago — 1947
NEW ORLEANS – Federal agents cracked open a 22-month-old Chicago kidnapping mystery here Tuesday with the arrest of a dishwashing dancing instructor who converted his 5year-old victim into the headline attraction of a skating rink show. Mary Ann Kubon, who was kidnaped from a Chicago boarding house in 1945, was placed in a New Orleans orphanage to await return to her mother, Mrs. Walter Kubon.
100 years ago — 1922
Strong probability that two wellknown Memphis women, maybe three, as well as one or two soldier candidates, will take a turn at some of the county offices to be filled in the August election, indicated yesterday that it will not be long before the county campaign will be on in full swing. It is even hinted that more than one formal announcement will be forthcoming within the next 10 days.
125 years ago — 1897
The Mississippi River at Memphis fell 0.1 of a foot in the past 24 hours to a stage of 36.1 feet this morning. Flood conditions in Mississippi, Arkansas and Louisiana below Memphis are very grave.